32 JULY / AUGUST 2019 GR SUMMIT The Indiana General Assembly concluded all legislative work for 2019 on April 24, five days earlier than the official sine die date. Lawmakers worked long hours the last few weeks of session negotiating final changes to notable legislation, including the state budget bill and the gaming bill. The 2019 Indiana legislative session began with 1,358 bills and joint resolutions introduced by legislators. Of those bills, only 31% moved out of their chambers of origin. Of that 31%, only 310 bills (roughly three-quarters of the 31%) survived through the process of being voted out of the second chamber. Only 17 of 310 bills that passed both chambers did not receive the final legislative action(s) needed to be sent to the governor. This brings the final number of bills sent to the governor’s desk eligible to be signed into law to a total of 293 (163 House bills and 130 Senate bills). This equates to a pass rate of 22% of all introduced bills. Notably, the two-year, $34 billion state budget increases public education funding by $613 million more than originally proposed. Also in the budget is extra money to: complete I-69 work; make improvements to U.S. 31; enhance broadband accessibility; allocate more resources to creating new trails throughout the state; and pay for additional flights from Indianapolis International Airport, among other provisions. The gaming bill, one of the most significant gaming bills to pass the General Assembly in the past 10 years, provides an opportunity to move a casino license to Terre Haute. It also legalizes sports wagering, among other major changes to gaming laws in Indiana. Other significant bills to pass this session were: a bias crimes bill aimed at removing Indiana from the national list of states that do not have bias crimes protections; a bill restructuring certain state tax credits to include a new redevelopment tax credit, replacing the expiring General Assembly 2019 Conclusion “DINO” industrial recovery tax credit; and a bill putting forth a state structure for Indiana to submit a plan to the U.S. Department of Agriculture on hemp cultivation. Additionally, the Indiana Bankers Association was successful in advocating for several pieces of legislation beneficial to the industry, including: • HEA 1123 – Telephone Solicitation – a bill authored by Rep. Jeff Ellington and sponsored by Sen. Randy Head makes changes to Indiana’s Do-Not-Call list that includes the creation of an exemption for financial institutions to contact their existing customers regarding new products. • HEA 1136 – Uniform Consumer Credit Code – a bill authored by Rep. Woody Burton and sponsored by Sen. Andy Zay makes modernizing changes to the UCCC that governs state-chartered institutions. Updates include: fixing the current installment rule, setting the delinquency charge banks can charge at $25 (current rate is $19 subject to indexing), and allowing for a balance transfer fee of the greater of $10 or 2% (current law is the lesser of $10 or 2%). HEA 1136 also calls for a complete study of the UCCC to determine where further changes are necessary. • SEA 516 – Regulation of Hemp – a bill authored by Sen. Randy Head and sponsored by Rep. Sean Eberhart establishes a regulatory framework for Indiana to grow hemp once the federal government approves the state’s plan to do so. The IBA worked with the author of the bill to include a representative of the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions on the Hemp Advisory Committee and to provide an exemption for financial institutions from criminal charges linked to the financing of “smokable hemp,” a newly defined illegal form of hemp. It was agreed that the lack of an exception could hinder lending Dax Denton Senior Vice PresidentGovernment Relations Indiana Bankers Association ddenton@indianabankers.org @ibagovrelations Eric J. Augustus Vice President-Government Relations Indiana Bankers Association eaugustus@indianabankers.org
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